Lawn-mower.



W. F. TOSCH.

LAWN MOWER.

APPLICATION FILED Nov, 24. Isls.

Patented Aug. 13, 1918 2 SHEETS-SHEET l mw I UIIIIIIIIIIIII-llllllllllllllllll I WITNESSES ATTORNEY W. F. TOSCH.

LAWN MOWER.

APPLlcATloN FILED Nov. 24. 191s.

LmJQS. l l Y y PtentedAug.13,1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

IlIllllllllllllmlilllllllll INVENTOR WW 1^' Bv /wW-w.,

ATTO R N EY WILLIAM F. TOSCH, F KANSAS CITY, MKSSUM. l

fawn-nourrie.

specification of Letters Fatent.

Patented dug.. ,13, lldlld.

Application filled November ttt, 1918. Serial No. 133,216.'

To aZZ wboma'tmay concern:

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Be it known that l, Winnen: F. Tosca, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kansas City, in the county lof Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Lawn- Mowers, of which the following is a specihcation.

lhis invention relates to lawn mowers, and particularly to motor driven mowers.

Ilhe invention aims primarily to provide a mowing machine equipped with a motor for driving the cutting mechanism thereof, the mower being adapted to be guided and followed by an operator, and which embodies simplified mechanisms all arranged and cooperating to provide a powerful, positive and efficient machine, capable'of attaining high speed, which is easily and quickly steered, and which is equipped with means whereby grass may be cut in `various lengths.

A further object is to provide a mowen of this character which'is equipped with surfaces.

Still further objects reside in a device of this character which is featured by the lach will of expensive and complicatedV mechanism; which embodies but few simple and readily assembled parts; the various parts being ar-` ranged or assembled in'such manner as to preclude wear, breakage or lderangementg which is capable of being readily taken apart for the purposes of cleaning, sharpen- 'ing or repair; which is capable of being `folded into small compass when not in use;

which requires but a small amount of fuel to develop the requisite driving power; and

which may be readily controlled by the operator.

'With these objects in view, together with others, which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the novel formation, combination and arrangement of parts, all as `will be described more fully hereinafter, illustrated in the drawings, and particularly pointed out in the claim.

Figure 1 is a plan View of a mower constructed and arranged in accordance with the invention; v Fig. 2 is a side'elevation of the mower illustrated in Fig. 1;v

- Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the vimproved mower; i

Fig. f1 is a sectional vView taken on line 4 4 of Fig, 1; i l

Fig. 5 is a transverse-sectional view talren through the cutting mechanism of thel mower;

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view taken through the engine shaft;

Fig. 7 is a detail view illustrating the means for connecting the knife bar with the pitman,l and Fig. 8 is a; view in elevation showing the means for connecting the pitman to the drive wheel;I

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, 10 indicates the frame of the mower, which consists of a plurality of relai tively thin strong metallic bars, connected together in the manner shown toprovide a frame work of substantially rectangular formation. AThe frame includes an axle 11, which is disposed transversely, and is supported at its ends by wheels 12. Ylhis axle lis of'substantially Ushape, the framebeing supported upon the bight portion thereof, so as to be relatively-close to the ground. A diagonal brace or bar 13 isl disposed within the frame so as to lend rigidity and stability to the structure. from the frame are arms 14, the said armsV being `connected at their outer ends by al',

handle bar 15, the said handle being adapted to be grasped by the operator to steer or guide the machine.

A guide 16 `is secured to the forward end of the vehicle frame, and through which a titl' Projecting rearwardly lll@ wheel post 17 extends, the said post having n `swiveled at its lower end a wheel 18 for supporting the forward end yof the frame. A set screw 19 extends through the guide and is adapted to bind against the wheely post, and this construction permits ofthe said post being adjusted vertically so as to vary the distance of the forward end of the frame from the ground.-

Projecting laterally from the vehicle frame at the forward end of the latter, is a finger bar 20. This bar is formed of a relatively thin metallic plate, shaped so as to present a straight front edge parallel with the forward end'of the vehicle frame. The finger'ban is secured at its inner end to a yoke member 21, the latter having its arms v pivoted as at 22 to the side of the frame so as to enable the finger bar to be moved to ward and away from the ground. An arched member 23 extends over the inner end of the finger bar 20 at the juncture of the latter with the vehicle frame, so as not to inter- Y fere with the movements of the bar, and to permit unimpeded movement of the sickle operatin mechanism to be hereafter detailed. he outer extremity'of the finger bar is supported by a -wheel 24, the latter being carrled by a stem 25, mounted for vertical movement in a suitable guide at the` Means may be p ro' .vided for adjusting the wheel stem within.` its guide,vso as to regulate the distance the end of the saidibar.

finger bar shall assume above the ground.

4The finger bar is equipped with the usual forwardly projecting guards 26, within the rearward portion of which and upon the upper face of the bar are secured the ledger lates 27. These Jplates are attached to the nger b arpby means of screws or rivets, and have their inclined edges sharpened as will be readily understood. Mounted for sliding movement longitudinally offthe nger bar and confined beneath the straps 27', is a knife bar 28, the said bar carrying the blades 26' for coperation with `the guard plates 27 to perform a cutting action. The innermost end of the knife bar is'e uippe'd with a ball 30 of hard metal, 40 to whic one end of .a pitman 31 is connected. The pitman is disposed transversely ,of the frame, and. is the instrumentality by which the knife bar is actuated. Thispit.-` man isl provided at one end with a pair of coupling sections 32, -which partially inclose and form a swivel connection with the ball member 30. A clamping bolt 33 extends through the clamp or cou ling members adjacent the ball 30, and 1s provided at its outermost extremity with lock nuts 34, to

face of a rotatable disk or wheel 38. This disk is secured upon one end of a sectional power shaft, the latter being indicated generally at 39 and which comprises sections 40 and 41. The section 40 is mounted for rotation l. in suitable bearings held upon a strut 42', land is equipped at its inner end with a sleeve 43. The shaft 41 vis adapted to engage at its forward end within the socket formed by the sleeve or collar 43, and the inclosed end of the shaft 41 is provided with an opening adapted to aline with laterally disposed openings in the sleeve'or collar 43, and through which a frangible pin 44 is adapted to be inserted to connect the shaft sections. The shaft 41 may be formed upon the crank shaft of a motor indicated at 45, and which comprises in the present instance an engine of the internal combustion type. This engine is supplied with fluid fuel, suchy as gasolene, contained within a tank 46, and the ignition for the engine may be supplied by batteries or other suitable sources of elet:-

trical energy confined within the box or 2 compartment 47. The speed of the engine may be controlled by manipulation of the lever 48 located upon the handle of the ve` hicle and within convenient reach of the operator. Initial or starting movement may be imparted to the motor by applying a hand crank to the rearward endof the crank shaft as `will be readily understood.

The outer extremity of the fin r bar is equipped with a divider 49, whic collects the standingy grass or weeds lying in the path of travel of the same and draws the latter into engagement with the end teeth of prevent the parts becoming separated or detached during the operation of the mower.

The ball maybe provided with suitable apertures through which oil may. fiow to keep 55 the joint properly lubricated at all'times.

Obviously, th1s particular construction rn mits the pitman to be readily detac ed from the knife bar when desired.

60 vided wlth a pair of separable bearing sections 35, secured in proper assembled relation upon thepitman end by means of bolts 36, and which form a pivotal connection for the said end of the pitman with a wrist pin 65 37 -mounted eccentrically upon the outer v o erating sharpened ed The opposite end of the pitman is procarried `s ear standing stalks w ich happen to pass the sickle, and causes the standin stalks to fall inwardly from the end of t e cutting mechanism. This divider thus enables'the 105 end of the swath cut by the mower to be clearly defined, so that the o erator may guide the machine occording y upon his next trip.

In operation, the wheels 18 and 24 are adjusted 1n their respective ferrulesor clevises to space the cutter above the ground the reuired distance. A fragile pin, such as one ormed of wood, is driven into the alined openings in the ends of the shaft sections, so that a positive driving connection is established between the motor 25 and the cutting mechanism. The engine is then started, whereupon the cutter bar will be reciprocated upon the finger bar. The 'blades 26 y the cutter bar are thus reciprocated across the guard plates 27, and the coof the plates will between the guards. The s eed of the en- 12.5

e may be readily contro ed by mani uation of the lever 48. The machine us operating, is guided and pushed over the lawn or field, and the only exertion required 1s that to push andv guide the vehicle. 130

3Q cutting mec anism in upstanding position.

Should the teetl or blades of the cutting mechanism engage roots, heavy stalks,

` stones, wire, or other obstructions which the cutting mechanism `is hinged vto the- :trame proper of the vehicle, the said cutting mechanism may move upwardly and downwardly to conform to irregularities in the surface of the field or lawn. rllhe hin ed connection betweenthe pitman and knife ar lenables the cutting mechanism to oscillate A without `a'ecting the driving connection.

When it is desired to vmove the mower -without cutting, the pin 44 may be withdrawn'from the shaft sections, or the engine may be halted, and the cutting mechanism swung upon its pivot upwardly, and out of contact with the ground'. Flexible links, chains or ro es may be used to maintain the From the foregoing, it is apparent that l have provided an extremely simple and yet thoroughly eiicient'mower equipment with means for driving its cu tin mechanism.. 'll-he only e'ort necessary n t e part of the operator is steering and pushing the vehicle over the lawn The device is of exceedingly light weight, bein formed of light and yet durable frame ars or rods, and the engine may also be of simple construction and li ht weight. The various parts of the devlce are assembled in such manner as will permit the ready dismantling of the mechanism when required for repair, cleaning or adjustment of the elements.

While the present is a disclosure of the preferred embodiment of the invention'it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto, but that various changes may be made in the construction, arrangement and proportion of parts, without departing from the scope of the invention, as

`defined inthe appended claim..

In a mower, a wheeled frame, a yoke pivv oted at the extremities of its arms to said frame and being capable of swinging laterally thereof, a cutting mechanism supported at one end by said yoke, said mechanism includin a reciprocable cutter bar, the end of sai bar being disposed in said yoke, a ball on the end of said bar, a motor, a pitman connected at one end to said motor, clamp arms on the outer end of said pitman engaging said ball, and a bolt for holding sald arms against said ball.

In testimon whereof I aiix my signature in presence o two witnesses.

f WILLIAM F. TGSCH.

Witnesses: r A

W. E. MoNAnAN', D. B. HAwonTH. 

